1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting element for use in a motor vehicle. More specifically, it relates to a clip mounting element for connecting an airbag to an internal structure of the motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Clip mounting elements play a large part in vehicle engineering and are used, for example, to connect airbag fabric with the internal structure of a motor vehicle. Such clip connections are used, in particular, in the case of airbags with large surfaces such as side curtain airbags. Here, both the edge of the airbag and the internal structure of the vehicle include through-holes. A corresponding mounting element extends through these two through-holes when the airbag is mounted in the vehicle to clamp the airbag fabric to the internal structure of the vehicle.
A mounting element for a clip connection is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,116. The mounting element is formed in one piece and includes two pairs of arms which extend from an essentially rectangular base plate which is long in shape. Each of these arms includes a contact section, whereby in the mounted state the contact sections of the first arms are located on one side of the metal sheet associated with the vehicle, and the contact sections of the second arms are located on the other side of the metal sheet associated with the vehicle, thus creating the desired connection. The second arms are formed so as to be elastic. The two pairs of arms extend from two edges of the base plate which face each other, i.e. two arms extend from each side.
The task of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting element such that an improved retaining effect can be achieved.